Saturday, June 29, 2013

Snapshots of Celtic Woman // Omaha // June 2013

A few weeks ago we saw Celtic Woman in Omaha!


We left work after lunch and drove up for the show. The drive is pretty quick, so we checked into our hotel and grabbed coffee and dinner before we needed to pick up our tickets. 

The performance was at the Orpheum Theatre downtown, which was really conveniently located with plenty of parking. 


The show was great, as always. The music was incredible and the choreography was fun to watch. It was nice to see Susan (the newest member) grow into a bigger role for this show. They brought back a lot of Lisa Kelly's old songs for her to sing. The crowd was significantly better than either of the other shows I'd been to. Everyone was clapping, laughing, cheering and crying. I didn't expect to cry at all, but Lisa Lambe's intro to Bridge Over Troubled Water really got to me. She talked about how everyone has been having such hard times and that the friends we have can really make all the difference. She dedicated that to everyone in the audience, which really touched me. I was pretty surprised that this particular song made me cry because of all of their songs, that one isn't a favorite... but it might be now. 


In addition, the theatre was beautiful! Lots of ornate detail with chandeliers everywhere. You can't say that most concert venues are beautiful! This was definitely a pleasant surprise! 


After the show, I tweeted mentioning each of the girls thanking them for the incredible show and to my shock(!) Mairead, the wonderful violinist of the group favorited it! I did a little happy dance! :)

I am excited for new music to come out, whenever that may be... and then to see them perform live again someday! Maybe even for their Christmas tour! :) 

Have you ever seen Celtic Woman live?

All for now,

Alexandra 

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Summer Bucket List 2013

Finally....


1) watch Funny Face
2) open a safety deposit box
3) take a road trip, short or long
4) make a s'mores recipe from my s'mores pinterest board
5) order a rivet and sway try on kit
6) read 5 books, 2 must be classics
8) buy new potted herbs and plant them
9) play in the rain
10) try a new margarita recipe
11) start my travel scrapbook
12) go to a flea market ( a big one! )
13) Host 3 gatherings
14) have a sleepover with my sisters
15) make a recipe from Rustic Fruit Desserts
16) sketch
17) find an apartment
18) finish reading Curly Girl
19) make plans for global movie nights
20) make inspirational wall art
21) experience somewhere completely new
22) try a new lemonade recipe
23) have a picnic
24) sew something
25) see 5 new places in Kansas
26) watch BBC's Persuasion
27) see Celtic Woman
28) publish 15 blog posts (on this blog)
29) make fresh angel food or pound cake to eat with strawberries and homemade whipped topping
30) do something I would never normally do
32) see a fireworks show
33) go swimming
34) see the ocean
35) make kebabs! (or just eat them..)
36) go to Schlitterbahn
37) go to birdies
38) try gelato
39) send mail 
40) meet 3 new people and get to know them!

Check out last years list, here.

What is on your summer bucket list?

All for now,

Alexandra

See how I did! Check out my end-of-the-summer review here.

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

The One and Only Rebecca

I'm on a reading rampage right now.

I just finished Rebecca and am nearly half way done with Mermaids!


Rebecca is another classic that has been on my list for a while. Once I found this gorgeous vintage $2 copy (above) I was in love. However, I had it for 3 years before I began reading it... so I'm glad to be checking it off!

The book started out with and eerie scene set in the present, but quickly moved to the past. It told the story of an unnamed girl who met a mysterious man in Monaco and fell in love. She married him and moved back to England with him. From there you learn the tortured past of both Mr. de Winter and his home. 

The story is filled with scenes that almost lead you up to another piece of the mysterious puzzle, but then leave you hanging. This style is kind of unusual for modern day readers, where something shocking happens in nearly every chapter of a book or episode of a TV show. At first I found it a little underwhelming, but realized that once I got to the actual action it ended up being more exciting! 

Beyond that I found quite a lot of it depressing. I found the main character very meek and irritating. She NEVER stuck up for herself! She spent nearly the whole book being more of a narrator than anything else. Constantly obsessing about Mr. de Winter's first wife and how she stacked up, I found her pretty hard to relate to. I feel that Du Maurier created her that way intentionally though, as she is never given her own name. She is only ever referred to as Mrs. de Winter, after she is married. It was extremely strange to read a book from the point of view of a character with no name! This became a very interesting thing to think about while dissecting the novel later.



It is interesting to read an older book, this one being from the 30's, that eludes to activities that could not be written about plainly at the time. Like (I'm assuming,) sex, drugs and excessive drinking. I think that for those reasons it would be very interesting to see a movie interpretation of the novel, to see what they thought was being eluded to. Sadly, there doesn't seem to be a recent movie version. Please make one BBC!! :)

Also, is it just me, or is Mrs. Danvers almost the creepiest literary figure ever?!? (picture above) I would not want to be near this woman!

The book more-or-less ended the way I expected it to, but I really enjoyed it.

Have you read Rebecca? 

What did you think of it and the main character? 

Have you seen any good movie or mini series interpretations of it?


There is also a "pre-quel" called Rebecca's Tale, which I own and might read. I think it will be a Wide Sargasso Sea to Jane Eyre sort of relationship. Very interesting, but not at the top of my list.

First Check off my Summer Reading List complete!

All for now,

Alexandra

Monday, June 10, 2013

Spice Up Your Summer Playlist!

In my never-ending search for new and interesting music, I found this fantastic album! 

I first heard about Rosemary Clooney on Gilmore Girls and soon after bought a clearance CD of hers. It was short, but it got me hooked. I wanted to add a new album of hers to my collection on a recent itunes purchase and came across this album. It was unique and didn't have any songs that I already owned. 

Here is what I found!


This album is full of Latin flavor and old stand-bys. It is extremely upbeat and irresistibly catchy! 

Some Favorites:

Corazon de Melon
Magic is the Moonlight
In a Little Spanish Town
Sway

The album is available for purchase on itunes for only $6.99!

Who doesn't love a song called Watermelon Heart?!

Download this and host a little outdoor fiesta this summer!

Or just sit back on the deck with a margarita.. :) 

You'll find yourself shimmying around the house singing "you're heart is a watermelon heart!" ... "just a watermelon heart!"

What is your favorite unusual music purchase?

All for now,


Alexandra

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Summer Reading List 2013 // 2 Ways

Ah summer, time to read!

I've made 2 rough summer reading lists: the ambitious list and the lite list.

The Ambitious Summer Reading List


1) This Side of Paradise By F. Scott Fitzgerald
Started this once, and really loved it. Then I got busy and didn't have time to finish. I hope to get back into it this summer.

A (so far) awesome book filled with history and legends about mermaids. It gives you a look at where the mythology came from, all of the details recorded about mermaids, legends and tales from around the world by continent. I have always loved mythology and folktales and especially mermaids, so I am having a lot of fun with this book. I am learning a lot about the history and cultures of the places featured as well.

BECAUSE WE BOOKED A CRUISE TO THE MARITIME PROVINCES! (I'm not really excited or anything.)

4) Grayson By: Lynne Cox 
Just got this one. It's about a woman who is swimming in the ocean when she realizes she is swimming with a baby whale. She knows that if she swims to the beach the whale will beach and die. So she helps it search for it's mother. Supposedly a true story. The only thing that I love more than mermaids, is whales. 

5) Rebecca By: Daphne DuMaurier 
Look familiar from my 2010 summer book list?? ;) A gothic romance from the 1930's. Very creepy for the time. About 100 pages left and so far it's really depressing but simultaneously intriguing and I really want to check it off my list, so hopefully I can finish it!

A handbook on curly hair that helps you identify the type of curly hair that you have and gives you specific tips on how to fight frizz, wash it, etc plus which products to use and how you make your own. I hope that this helps my hair, because it's been kinda angry recently :S.

This was a book that I saw at the Discovery Store and wanted as a kid. There was also a similar one and I could only afford one of the two. I thought I would never find it again, but I did! :) It is a book of exercises and quizzes that theoretically give you insight into your personality. I find it interesting even though it's more fun than accurate.

8) Evangeline By: Ben Farmer
A book based on an epic poem based on Canadian Maritime Province history. Did that make sense? It's about the extreme deportation of Acadians (Canadian citizens who immigrated from specific parts of France) from the Maritime Provinces (see book #3 on my list) back to France, to Georgia and later to Louisiana. I started to learn some history of the area when we decided on our trip, only to find that I already had a novel based on the topic! Crazy.

This is a new-agey sort of book that is based on culture, spirituality and mythology of heroines around the world. Not my typical sort of book, but it sounds really interesting. I always enjoy learning about new topics and ideaology  so I am sure this will be really fun for me.

Summer Reading List Lite


The same list minus the F. Scott Fitzgerald (#1) and the Who Are you book (#7). 

Either way, we'll see how far I get! I will probably end up reading a bunch of other things and only half of these, but it's good to have goals. Goals and books. 

What is on your summer reading list? 

Have you read any of the ones on mine? What did you think?

Have you ever been to Canada's Maritime Provinces?

All for now,

Alexandra